Author: Michael Karlik
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Appeals court overturns Denver strangulation conviction for improper expert testimony
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a Denver man’s assault conviction on Thursday, finding an expert’s testimony about the potential risks of strangulation had no bearing on the facts of the case. Phillip L. Bauereiss and the victim got into an argument. Jurors heard that Bauereiss allegedly took a dog leash and wrapped it around the victim’s…
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Colorado justices consider whether Denver police failed to respect suspect’s right to counsel
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Thursday whether Denver detectives improperly restarted their interrogation of a murder suspect who had clearly invoked his constitutional right to an attorney. The district attorney’s office characterized the circumstances as “peculiar.” When police initially brought in Dakotah Lulei for questioning, he was not under arrest. After receiving…
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10th Circuit rejects assortment of legal theories challenging workplace vaccine mandates
The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected an array of legal theories on Tuesday that challenged employers’ ability to impose COVID-19 vaccination requirements under the U.S. Constitution, laws governing emergency drug authorizations and the rules for human experimentation. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit followed in the footsteps of…
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Federal judge advances defamation lawsuit from woman called ‘prostitute’ at party
A federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss a defamation lawsuit stemming from a 2024 party at which the defendant allegedly called the plaintiff a “prostitute.” Tiffany Mai alleged that during a July 2024 dance at a luxury dude ranch in Granby, attendee Laura Elsaden approached other guests and “began making defamatory, slanderous, and false…
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Colorado justices consider whether man can be convicted for convincing mom to lie for him
There was no dispute that Michael Thomas Hupke asked his mother to lie to his parole officer on his behalf. Further, Hupke acknowledged Mesa County prosecutors could have charged him as an accomplice to his mother’s deceit, or for soliciting her to do it. But Hupke maintained prosecutors could not do what they actually did:…
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‘Mental gymnastics’: Lawyers, judge dissect Colorado Supreme Court’s racial bias rule for jury selection
Lawyers from the prosecution and defense communities, along with a trial judge, attempted on Thursday to demystify a recent rule change addressing racial discrimination in criminal jury selection, with some head-scratching about what the Colorado Supreme Court had actually done. “The proposal initially was not to clarify a complicated area of law, but was an…
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Judge orders noncitizen released from immigration detention, finds government misapplied law
A federal judge concluded the government was likely wrong to detain a noncitizen without the chance for a release hearing, and ordered him to be let out of immigration custody on Friday. At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez declined to green-light Nestor Esai Mendoza Gutierrez’s request to turn his lawsuit…
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Appeals court finds Denver jury convicted man for possessing more fentanyl than evidence showed
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday concluded a Denver jury convicted a defendant of a felony for possessing more than four grams of an illegal substance when the evidence actually showed it was not close to even one gram. At his 2023 trial, a jury convicted Cesar Noel Garcia for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and felony…
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‘Literally dangerous’: Colorado’s chief justice speaks about dangers to judiciary from threats, rhetoric
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez told an audience of lawyers and judges on Wednesday that “any action” that inappropriately fosters distrust in the judiciary is a threat to judges and to democracy itself. “I want to be very clear that criticism of our work and our decisions — that comes with the territory. If you…
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Federal judge slams government’s ‘bad faith conduct’ in immigration case
A federal judge criticized the government’s actions in an immigration-related case on Tuesday, after learning a hearing was scheduled for a man’s possible deportation just one day after he challenged his detention in court. “This type of bad faith conduct is inimical to our system of justice, and is conduct this Court will generally not…